Pay yourself first

Just wondering how many of you are planning on cutting untill retirement and if anyone has started saving for it with IRA or other means. I've read in past threads that guys are working 7 days a week and having a hard time making money. I don't know if their joking or what, I would like to believe most people in this business are making money and saving for their future.

Try the roth ira will benifit you in the long run. You pay the tax upfront but you dont pay on you returns. Where a regular ira you dont pay upfront but you will pay later. You will make much more money on your returns.

Im 18 and started a roth IRA. Each year I set aside 2K to drop into it and I plan to keep doing that until im 59 and then i will take my million dollars and have some real fun. Did i hear a proposal to increase the amount you can put into it or was i just dreaming?
Dingo

I see that you are all looking to the future. This is really a great thing. If you are in business for yourself and do this full time you really need more than just the 2000 that an regular or roth IRA will give you. If you can afford to put more away you should look a little deeper into another investment strategy. I have set up a SIMPLE IRA which would allow me to set aside up to $12000 a year before taxes. The formula is that you can set aside 3% up to $6000 maximum and the company can match what you set out up to the $6000. This is available at most financial institutions. There is nothing that has to be filed with the government other than what goes on the 1040. When you set this up you must make it available to your employees with the same rules. There are some other criteria that can be changed and I have given maximum amounts alloted. There are other factors that must be taken into account and your taxman should be able to tell you about those (especially if you have a pension plan from another income source). There are other vehicles like a SEP IRA,or a keogh plan. Don't be drawn into the IRA only thing. There are many other ways to save for your retirement.

Its refreshing to see some of you are planning for your future, rather than waiting until your 55 and you only have $1000.00 saved.

Morturf, I just started the Simple IRA last year. This is a great plan to complement our IRA and monthly savings plan. I'm really trying to save now to give myself the option to retire at 56 or 57. In 20 years I'll know if it worked.

Don't get me wrong, saving younger is better, but relying only on a $2000/year IRA is not going to cut it. Sure, when you are 65 you will have over a million, BUT, 45 years from now, a million dollars will not buy as many goods and services as it will today.

Also, keep in mind that you cannot spend that million. If you do, you will not have any money left working for you making interest. The interest is what you will have to live off of.

So, in reality, in 45 years, you will need more than a million just to sustain the same lifestyle as you had prior to retirement.

I think that everyone should see a chart that I saw years ago, called the "Cost of procrastination". It detailed dollar amounts of saving $X starting at age 18, 24, 30... It is amazing the difference that a few years can make.